First Prize
The idea of my portraits is to record intimately emotional response over time as the subject listens to a favorite piece of music. For her portrait, Jessica Wickham, a precision woodworker in Beacon, New York, chose Arvo Pärt’s “Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten.” A precisely controlled video camera hovering inches away from the subject travels the length of her body, timed to synchronize with the length of the piece of music. The camera, nearer than the eye can focus, captures minute actions like breathing and pulse as living elements of the portrait. The camera also closely explores the drape and wear of clothing, expressions of personal choice that Jessica (like each of us) has chosen to present to the world.